Activities of the Orenburg border administration to ensure the interests of Russia in the Junior Zhuz at the beginning of the 19th century (using the election of khans as an example)

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the Orenburg Border Administration and the nobility of the Younger Zhuz, and to outline the main directions of Russian policy in the region. It is important to note that many materials on this topic have not yet been introduced into scholarly discourse. The history of interaction between the two ethnic groups - Russians and Kazakhs - remains relevant for building trust and strengthening ties between modern Russia and Kazakhstan. This history requires objective study and reinterpretation in light of new conceptual approaches that have emerged in the post-Soviet period. The article employs a retrospective method of historical research, which allows for tracing changes in the political situation along Russia’s Ural border in the first half of the 19th century. It draws on materials from the United State Archive of the Orenburg Region (UGAOO), within which the author has identified key archival sources that shed light on the relationship between the Orenburg military governor and the political elite of the Younger Zhuz. The author concludes that interaction between the Kazakhs and the Russian border administration helped address long-standing issues within Kazakh society, such as baranta (cattle rustling), lawlessness, tribal disputes, and conflicts over pastoral territories. The Russian administration implemented a number of effective measures to integrate the Kazakhs into the legal and economic framework of the empire while safeguarding their rights and economic opportunities. Archival documents indicate that conflicts between Russians and Kazakhs were not systemic in nature, but were often driven by personal factors and a lack of legal regulation. The author argues that the causes of the difficulties within the Younger Zhuz in the early 19th century were not the actions of the Orenburg Border Administration or the weakness of Russian-installed khans, but rather an internal crisis within nomadic society -specifically, the persistent rivalry among elite groups who could not agree on principles of governance. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

Keywords

Authors

References